The Big Role-Playing Games of 2012

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Highlighting our most anticipated RPGs set to launch by the end of this year.

By Lucas M. Thomas

With the current generation of consoles coming to a close and the next one just around the corner, the year ahead is shaping up to be one of the most exciting the gaming industry's ever seen – and the quality of the new releases just over the horizon looks better than ever, too.

All this week we've been highlighting some of our favorite upcoming titles scheduled to release before the end of 2012, breaking them down by genre to help you get up to speed on what you'll be playing between today and New Year's Eve.

Earlier this month MMO fans got to finally step into the world of TERA, but there's another massively multiplayer world getting reading to launch next month too – The Secret World. Coming to us by way of Funcom (previously known for Age of Conan and Anarchy Online), The Secret World presents a setting modeled after modern day Earth. If modern day Earth had giant monsters, magic use and easily accessible portals to Hell, that is.

You'll have the opportunity to join forces with one of three different warring factions, construct items through an interface similar to Minecraft and customize your character with your choice of supernatural powers. The variety of content promises to be as vast as, well, the Earth itself. And we're looking forward to finally getting to explore and uncover its secrets.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Golden

Funcom's Secret World isn't the only way to experience a weird, warped version of modern reality, though – Atlus' on-going Shin Megami Tensei series continues to be a great way to pull the curtain back on the hidden spirits lurking in the world around us. Next up for this franchise will be an American localization of Persona 4 Golden, an updated and enhanced version of 2008's original Persona 4 from the PlayStation 2.

This new edition will be exclusive to the Vita, will boast remastered visuals tuned precisely to the new portable's beautiful display and will add extra voice acting not found in the first release. New in-game content, new cutscenes, a new character and more will bolster the gameplay as well, which should make this one a must-have for Shin Megami Tensei fans – the PS2 version scored an Amazing rating of 9.0 just as it was, so adding all these extras on top of an already superb game is definitely exciting.

Ragnarok Odyssey

Vita fans have even more RPG action to look forward to beyond Person 4 too, as the talented translators at XSEED Games are hard at work localizing the break-out hit Ragnarok Odyssey for Western audiences. This one is an Action/RPG focusing on fast combat and skillful usage of vertical space on the battlefield – you'll knock enemies into the air, then leap after them to keep your combos going in the sky.

It's no secret that the Vita had a rough launch in Japan last year, but this game was one of the few true success stories to come out of that rocky start. (Probably because it resembles Capcom's Monster Hunter series in more ways than one, and Japan just can't get enough of that series.) We'll see if this Odyssey can repeat its success in the States later this year.

New Little King's Story

And hey, if we're going to feature two Vita games, why not make it three? The role-playing genre is definitely going to be well-represented on Sony's newest handheld throughout the rest of this year, and New Little King's Story should be another stellar addition to the lineup.

This game is a new reimagining/sequel to Little King's Story, an under-the-radar cult classic hit from the Wii's unsung library. Like that predecessor, New Little King's Story puts you in command of a young, newly-crowned monarch who must rally his kingdom's citizens to follow him into battle, complete construction projects in town and more. The 2009 Wii game deserved a lot more attention than it got, and we're thrilled the property is getting a second chance – let's hope the Vita audience shows it some love later this year.

The Last Story

Nintendo's most outspoken fans scored a huge victory earlier this year when they successfully campaigned to get the company to reverse its decision not to localize the epic Xenoblade Chronicles. With that win secured, though, the dedicated members of grassroots groups like Operation Rainfall kept pouring on the pressure – and now the second game they supported, Mistwalker's The Last Story, is on its way too.

Nintendo actually allowed XSEED to step in and handle the publishing for this one in North America, but however it's happening, it's happening. We'll soon be treated to Action/RPG combat which features a cover system to hide from foes, ally command mechanics draw out of the strategy genre and perhaps the best visuals the Wii has ever – or will ever – see. Wrap it all up with the fact that it's headlined by the iconic RPG master Hironobu Sakaguchi and you've got one new tale that was absolutely worth the time and effort it took to be able to be told.

Unchained Blades

Finishing off XSEED's contributions to this list is Unchained Blades, yet another role-playing adventure that looked like it was doomed to stay sitting untranslated in Japan. XSEED picked up this one too, though, and will be taking advantage of digital distribution to offset the cost of publishing in the West – it was a retail release overseas, but here it will come to the PSP via the PlayStation Network, and Nintendo's 3DS courtesy of the Nintendo eShop.

The game itself is an old-school dungeon crawler. You'll face off against hand-drawn enemies in turn-based combat, explore caves and caverns with a first-person perspective and use the unique "Unchain" mechanic to try to convince monsters to stop fighting you and join up with your party of heroes instead. Full English voice acting will also be included, while XSEED is promising 50 hours of content or more – if all these things come together, Unchained Blades could be one of the biggest, boldest titles we've seen debut on PSN or the eShop.

Guild Wars 2

It's hard to believe it's been over seven years since the first Guild Wars launched, but sure enough one of World of Warcraft's earliest competitors is actually that old (while WoW itself is still moseying right along.) Guild Wars 2 might just take a more sizeable chunk out of that aging genre champions' player base, though.

Building on the enhancements and features found through the first game's expansions, Guild Wars 2 offers a refined version of the tactical combat the series is known for. The storyline has also been pushed forward 250 years into the future, where the five playable races of Tyria are forced to put their battles with each other on hold to join together and face the new threat of ancient dragons newly awoken from under the earth. It's not often that MMOs get numbered sequels, so fans of persistent online worlds should pay close attention to this one as its release draws nearer.

Paper Mario 3DS

Nintendo's main mustached mascot is the man in charge of several on-going spin-off series, from Mario Kart to Mario Party to all kinds of different Mario sports. None are as visually playful and downright whimsical as the Paper Mario games, though, which we've seen for three console generations in a row – and now, for the first time, the 2D hero will explore his 3D worlds on a portable platform.

We still don't know a lot of details about Paper Mario 3DS, but what we do know is intriguing enough as-is – like the fact that this game will emphasize Mario's Paper-ness move that ever before with elements like fans blowing him around with blasts of wind and giant pairs of scissors swooping down into battle scenes to slice his enemies in half. We're looking forward to finding out even more soon, as we expect this newest Paper Mario adventure to be one of the jewels of Nintendo's 3DS lineup at E3 in just a few weeks.

Neverwinter

I don't know a single gamer who wasn't trying to make sure his PC was powerful enough to run the original Neverwinter Nights 10 years ago, and the loving, widespread fan reception to that interactive vision of the iconic Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realms campaign setting ensured that we'd be seeing more Neverwinter in years to come. Sure enough, Neverwinter Nights 2 followed along in 2006 – and now, here in 2012, we're closing in on the release of the next take on that same world.

This time around the more simply titled "Neverwinter" will take the form of a free-to-play MMO. Development started on a different path and the game has suffered delays due to the change in direction and some corporate shuffling, but what's resulted from the long road looks to be wonderfully fun – and, importantly, accurately detailed in its re-creation of the Forgotten Realms setting. Neverwinter won't open its gates for another several months, but we're already planning our new characters and getting ready to roll for initiative.

Pokemon Black 2 & White 2

Rounding out our list is an unexpected surprise from Nintendo, whose long-running Pokemon RPG series was previously locked into what we thought was a predictable routine. A new generation would launch with two paired games, then a third game would follow along that made minor changes, then another new generation would come along a few years later to add more monsters and repeat the process.

Black 2 & White 2 are breaking that mold. We all expected Nintendo to issue a "Pokemon Grey," but instead we're getting two direct storyline sequels – actually numbered as sequels, too. Crazy, I know. This new pair of RPGs will take place two years into the future following the original Black & White storyline, will alter the Unova region to feature new locations and Gym Leaders and will host a super-nostalgic Pokemon World Tournament that brings back characters from every past generation to compete in a massive monster-battling free-for-all. Ready to catch 'em all, one more time? We always are.

And there you have it, RPG fans – our top ten picks for the best prospects in the genre set to debut before 2013 arrives. Which of these would you pick as your most anticipated? Let us know through the comments box below, and thanks for reading all five of our Big Games of 2012 lists this week.

Lucas M. Thomas looks at this list with just a bit of sadness, as he knows there's no way he'll have time enough to fully enjoy every single one of these great-looking games. But such is life – we must prioritize and pick which roles we'll play. You can follow Lucas on his IGN blog and Twitter.